Gift registry stories anger Arkansas governor

November 15, 2006

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday angrily defended a gift registry that was set up to help furnish his new home and said the registry was put together by his wife's friends for a housewarming party. "My wife has friends; she has lifelong friends. They wanted to do something for her," the Arkansas Republican told reporters after speaking at an event in downtown Little Rock. "It has nothing to do with who she is, other than she's their friend." Huckabee has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination and has made trips to several important primary states. He said he did not know the friends who set up the gift registry, nor did he know the names of the friends who hosted a housewarming party for which the registry was intended. Huckabee criticized news outlets for reporting on the gift registry and said he felt he and his wife were being unfairly portrayed. Huckabee said he would report any of the gifts on financial disclosure forms if he's required to by law, but indicated he did not see any ethical problems by accepting the gifts. Huckabee has been reprimanded previously for failing to report gifts by the Arkansas Ethics Commission. He was handed $500 fines for failing to report $43,150 his campaign paid him for use of his private jet in 1994 and $14,000 his wife was paid for work she did on his 1992 campaign. He was cautioned in 1997 for failing to report $23,500 he received from Action America, a group he helped found. And he was warned for failing to disclose a $200 stadium blanket he was given in 2001.